20 Romantic Collaborations By IRL Couples

Instagram via InTouch

When famous couples break up, beautiful songs rise from their ashes, but these romantic duets prove that happier times can be equally inspirational. Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's "Señorita" might have given Shawmila the Song of the Summer, but this hot young couple is only the latest in a time-honored tradition of IRL couples making sweet, sweet music together. Celebrity couple collabs like Everything Is Love by The Carters or "Best Mistake" by Ariana Grande and Big Sean are some of the best of the best, and they show us all what real love sounds like.

“Señorita,” Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

Island Records

Speak of the devils, Shawn and Camila are the it-couple of the summer, and they have the hit single to prove it. The will-they, won't-they BFFs have finally settled on "they will," frolicking around the United States from Los Angeles to Florida to Brooklyn on a PDA tour of America captured by Twitter, the paparazzi, and Cosmopolitan. Their sexy collaboration "Señorita" is the song that started it all, with Camila and her ex-boyfriend Matthew Hussey confirming their split only a few days after the song's release and the steamy music video that accompanied it.

“Half of My Heart,” Taylor Swift & John Mayer

YouTube

Back in 2009, a country singer-songwriter preparing for the release of her third studio album and a much-older folk star with few controversies to speak of released a low-key duet called "Half of My Heart." Fast forward a year, and Taylor Swift will have released her scathing ballad "Dear John" amidst John Mayer's increasingly dramatic public relations crises and subsequent disappearance from public life. This song was recorded when John was 32 and Taylor was only 19, and Billboard's break-down of their relationship places the ill-fated, short-lived romance squarely within the single's recording and release.

“S.O.S.,” ABBA

Universal Music Group

ABBA's goofy outfits, catchy songs, and hit musical franchise Mamma Mia have made the Stockholm singing group one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop, but casual fans don't realize the quartet was composed of two doomed married couples: Agnetha Fältskog, Agnetha's husband Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Anni-Frid's husband Benny Andersson. The duos would continue to make music even after their divorces, leading to poignant ballads like "The Winner Takes It All," but when ABBA was still composed of happy couples, they created triumphant love songs like "S.O.S.," about a love so strong, they couldn't try to go on without it.

“MotorSport,” Cardi B & Migos

Tony Forte/WENN

So maybe "romantic" isn't the word we should use to describe Cardi B's collaboration with Migos, the rap trio that includes her husband Offset, but this ode to wealth and excess includes some nasty explicit lines about Offset and Cardi's relationship that are lowkey sweet when you think about it. Billboard explained that "MotorSport" was the power couple's second collaboration, out of four so far, but "Lick" sounds more like the plot of Hustlers than a love song, "Drip" shows more love for a bussdown watch than a relationship, and "Who Want The Smoke?" is Lil Yachty's track first and foremost, even if Cardi is the King.

“Work,” Drake & Rihanna

Young Money
Cash Money

E! News ranked "Work" as Drake and Rihanna's best collaboration out of their four bops, and Drizzy proclaiming that if Ri had a twin he would still choose her before explaining that he knows she has to get hers if she comes over might be the most romantic thing the simpy rapper has ever said. RiRi and Drake's relationship is confusing AF. They went on a date sometime in 2009, and it seems like Drake was smitten for the next decade or so while Rihanna played it hot and cold. No one except Rihanna (and Drake?) can know if the pair were together when "Work" was recorded, but the media sure thought so.

“I Got You, Babe,” Sonny & Cher

WENN.com

1965's "I Got You Babe" solidified Sonny & Cher as a duo that would never be forgotten. Regardless of the tumultuous and, ultimately, tragic timeline of the celebrity couple collab, the baroque pop single defined the early hippie counterculture movement of love and peace with its simple "Old vs. Young" verses and belief that love will last. The duo was already married when they achieved mainstream popularity, and although Cher will go down in history as an icon in her own right that found life after love, it was love that started it all.

“Who You Love,” John Mayer & Katy Perry

Supplied by WENN.com

Looks like Katy Perry really was a sh*tty friend to Taylor Swift. "Bad Blood," the song that exposed these pop singers' feud to the world, wasn't released until 2014, but People cites Katy as dating Taylor's ex, John Mayer, on-and-off from 2010 until 2015. The couple even released a single, "Who Do You Love," in 2013, complete with a rodeo-themed music video filled with longing CW glances, really close talking, and joint bull riding. Who's really the Regina George in sheep's clothing here? Katy and Taylor have buried the hatchet, but John is still persona-non-grata as far as we know.

“Vertigo,” Jordin Sparks & Jason Derulo

WENN

This underrated power couple released an equally underrated collab in 2014 shortly before their breakup. Jason Derulo — oh, sorry,🎶🎵 Jason Derulo🎵🎶 — and Jordin Sparks dated for three years and only released one collaboration, which is a golden-voiced tragedy if we've ever seen one. They only performed it live once, at a Walmart Soundcheck event, which is another tragedy in and of itself. Jordin's love for her man was palpable in the video, which can be seen on YouTube, and the happy couple seems years from a dramatic breakup rather than months.

“Over You,” Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert

WENN

The number of celebrity power couples who didn't stand the test of time shows that America's 70% divorce rate is more than just a statistic. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert were the King and Queen of country music for a decade before calling it quits in 2015. Harper's Bazaar named Blake's 2011 serenade to his new wife, "Let's Grow Old Together," an iconic celeb-inspired song, but VH1 had it right when they named "Over You" one of the best duets from real-life couples. Miranda and Blake wrote the song about a heartfelt loss together, with Miranda singing because Blake's feelings were still too raw, but the duo performed it together on The Voice to benefit Oklahoma tornado victims.

“Best Mistake,” Ariana Grande & Big Sean

Apega/WENN.com

Ariana Grande was an icon long before the world took notice. Our queen may have reached the global popularity she deserves during her Sweetener and Thank U, Next era for her relevant, personal singles, unorthodox release schedule (or lack thereof), and back-to-back personal tragedies, but Ari's My Everything era had its share of bops and break-ups as well. Naya Rivera accused Ari "Schmariana Schmande" of stealing her then-fiancé Big Sean in her tell-all novel Sorry Not Sorry, and the couple did start dating in 2014 after the end of their respective relationships. They had collaborated on "Right There" during Ari's Yours Truly era, a banger she still sings on tour, but "Best Mistake" was the only song recorded while the couple was definitely dating.

“Jackson,” Johnny Cash & June Carter

WENN.com

Billboard called "Jackson" one of the top-five love songs by real-life couples, and the legendary Johnny Cash and June Carter were one of the best real-life couples in music history. Recorded twelve years after their first meeting backstage at the equally historic Grand Ole Opry in 1955, this cover of a Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber song won the life-long couple a joint Grammy Award the same year Johnny proposed to June onstage during a Canadian performance. The musicians died within four months of each other in 2003.

“Wouldn’t Change A Thing,” Joe Jonas & Demi Lovato

Disney Channel

There's no denying that Camp Rock was infinitely better than Camp Rock 2, but Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato's romantic duet "Wouldn't Change A Thing" is one of the greatest DCOM songs ever written (and the second-greatest of the channel's celebrity couple collabs, after Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' High School Musical triumphs). Demi has been open about her crush on Joe during the filming of Camp Rock, but maybe it was their mutual affection during Camp Rock 2 that gave "Wouldn't Change A Thing" that special little something. The Disney stars only dated for a month or two during Camp Rock 2, but they remained close friends for a while before an alleged falling out around the same time of her 2018 overdose.

“It’s Your Love,” Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

Judy Eddy/WENN.com

Country couples are the best couples. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have been married since 1996 and look poised to become our generation's Johnny and June. Tim and Faith won their first joint Grammy Award for a 2001 duet, "Let's Make Love," and released an entire joint album (and subsequently launched a joint tour to promote it) in 2017, but their most famous collaboration is undoubtedly their first, "It's Your Love." The couple, uncharacteristically, did not write their debut joint effort, but the romantic song still went 2x Platinum. Tim and Faith's Hot Country Songs Chart Peak was released a year after they met on tour and got married in 1996.

“Where You Are,” Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey

WENN.com

Nothing is as '00s as Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson's reality series, MTV's Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The former 98 Degrees boy bander (who was in his mid-twenties) and the teenaged Jessica started dating in 1999, and they spent their entire relationship in the spotlight, starting with their duet "Where You Are" from Jessica's debut album Sweet Kisses. We're not sure what the bigger '00s tragedy was: Nick and Jessica's divorce in 2005 or the fact that Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica had to end with their marriage.

“Walking On Thin Ice,” John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Shutterstock

Let's get one thing straight here: Yoko Ono didn't break up The Beatles. The Beatles broke up The Beatles. John Lennon's earlier collaborations with Yoko were so experimental, we're still not entirely sure what to do with them. As time went on, their countless duets and creative endeavors became easier to understand, although no less polarizing, with Yoko even co-writing John's signature solo song, "Imagine." Their final collaboration, "Walking On Thin Ice," has reached mythical status. Music Feeds explains that John's lead guitar riffs are said to be the last sounds he committed to tape, and there are rumors John was holding the master when he was shot in December 1980.

“This Is What You Came For,” Taylor Swift & Calvin Harris

Instagram via The Wrap

Looks like Meredith and Olivia Benson are out of the bag. Nils Sjöberg was really a pen name used by Taylor Swift when she was still happily loved-up with her Instagram-perfect DJ boyfriend, Calvin Harris, during simpler times back in 2016. Although Rihanna is singing lead, Tay did write the hit song, and Calvin confirmed she contributed backing vocals on the track. TMZ first broke the news that Nils and Taylor were one and the same, claiming that Calvin's behavior after "This Is What You Came For" was released was the final nail in their relationship's coffin, with Calvin telling Ryan Seacrest he couldn't see himself ever collaborating with his then-GF.

“Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac

Shutterstock

Technically, anything written by Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks could rightfully claim the title of best celebrity couple collab, but the duo's relationship only lasted from 1969 through 1976, meaning the only works eligible for this specific list are from the one-off Buckingham Nicks album, their eponymous Fleetwood Mac debut, and Rumours, although various other members of Fleetwood Mac dated on and off for decades. We chose "Landslide" because the Stevie-voiced track is about loving yourself as much as it is about her love for another person.

“My Favorite Part,” Ariana Grande & Mac Miller

Instagram via InTouch

Mac Miller lived and died a musical genius. Ariana Grande has gone on record saying his 2016 album The Divine Feminine wasn't *all* about her, going so far as to say "Cinderella" was the only song expressly about their relationship, but that didn't stop the late rapper's then-girlfriend from lending her voice to "My Favorite Part," which she also co-wrote with Mac. Technically, Ariana's second solo single featured Mac, but the duo didn't start dating until years later. "My Favorite Part" is officially the exes' only other collaboration, although Ari unofficially lent her vocals to a number of Mac's other songs.